The merchant shrugged. “I had a small cache of gold, but those bastards found it quickly.”
Roo smiled. The merchant had most certainly left a small strongbox of gold poorly hidden to let the raiders think they had captured his only treasure, but almost as certainly had another, richer, deposit of coins nearby. “Some items of worth?”
The merchant shrugged. “A few articles, perhaps, but nothing that might be called unique.”
“Unique is for the very rare client,” said Roo. He rubbed his chin and said, “Just something that might wait a long time to find a buyer here, but that might find a quick home in Krondor.”
The merchant stood motionless for a moment, then said, “Come with me.”
He led Roo through the back of the store and out across a small courtyard and into his home. A pale woman worked in the kitchen while two small children fought over possession of a toy. The man said, “Wait here,” without bothering to introduce his wife to Roo, and went up a narrow flight of stairs. He returned a few moments later and held out a leather-covered box.
Roo took the box and opened it Inside was a single piece of jewelry, an emerald necklace, closer to a full choker, of matched stones. It was set with cut diamonds, tiny but brilliant, and the goldwork was fine. Roo had no idea of its real worth, but calculated it was probably of fine enough quality to warrant a second look from even the most jaded dealer in gems.
“What do you want for it?”
“I was keeping this as a hedge against a disaster,” said the merchant, “and this qualifies as one, I guess.” He shrugged. “I need to restock, and quickly. My business will be nonexistent if I can’t provide goods to the townspeople.”
Roo was silent for a minute, then said, “Here’s what I’ll do. Give me a list of what you need, and we’ll go over it together. If we can agree upon a price, then I’ll bring back the goods from Ylith, within two weeks, perhaps as quickly as ten days, and then you’ll be back in business.”
The man frowned. “There’s a Quegan trader due in less than a week.”
“And what assurance have you he’ll have any of the goods you need?” said Roo instantly. “What good would it do you if he’s a slaver?”
The man shook his head. “None, but then again, we don’t see a lot of slavers in these parts.” Slavery was banned in the Kingdom, save in the case of condemned criminals, and the importation of slaves from Kesh or Queg was illegal.
“You know what I mean,” said Roo. “For a small premium, I can bring you exactly what you need.”
The man hesitated, and Roo said, “The children will continue to eat”
The merchant said, “Very well. Go to the inn at the end of the street and find a room. I’ll meet you for supper and we’ll go over the list together.”
Roo shook hands with the man and hurried to where Duncan waited. Duncan was half-dozing when Roo climbed aboard the wagon. “What?” he said in sleepy tones.
“The inn,” said Roo. “We find ourselves a room and make a deal.”
Duncan shrugged, “If you say so.”
Roo grinned. “I say so.”
Helmut Grindle looked up when Roo entered his study. “And how did we do, young Rupert?”
Roo sat and nodded in appreciation when Karli entered with a glass of wine for him. He sipped at it and said, “Very well, I think.”
“You think?” asked Grindle, sitting back in his chair. He glanced through the window where Duncan stood watch over the wagon. “I don’t see a wagon large with cargo, so I must assume you found something tiny but valuable.”
Roo said, “Something like that. I took our goods to Ylith and, after three days of shopping them around, made trades I thought were most profitable, and restocked with goods.”
Grindle’ s eyes narrowed. “What manner of goods?”
Roo grinned. “Twenty bolts of fine linen, two hogsheads of steel nails, ten dozen steel needles, a dozen hammers, five saws, one gross spools of fine thread—”
Grindle interrupted. “What?” He held up his hand. “You speak of common inventory! What of the long discussions we had on rare items of value for wealthy clients?”
Roo said, “I got a little gold as well.”
Grindle sat back in his chair and fingered his shirtfront. “You’re holding back something. What is it?”
“I took those items mentioned and traded them in Sarth for this.” He held out the leather box.
Grindle took it and opened it. He sat silently for a very long time, examining the necklace. After a moment he said, “This is very fine.” He calculated in his head. “But not worth enough more than what I sent north to make this a very profitable journey.”
Roo laughed and reached inside his tunic. He pulled out a large purse, which he tossed on the table. It landed with a heavy clank. “As I said, I got a little gold as well.”
Grindle opened the purse and quickly counted. He sat back with a smile. “This is a profit to be reckoned with, my boy.”
“I got lucky,” Roo said.